Purple Turtle and Doubloons?- The Merchant of Stratford

I really enjoyed viewing the performance of The Merchant of Venice, presented by Brigham Young University.  This performance took a new approach to the play by including modern references, such as The Purple Turtle as the place of business, Doubloons as the form of currency, and Stratford as the place of much of the action.  The actors were wonderful at mixing the old with the new, while making the performance entertaining for a young audience.  They practiced round theater with has the audience placed all around the actors, including the floor seating in between the aisles from where the actors were performing the action.  The characters of Gratiano, Nerissa, and Jessica were performed by some of the children in the audience as were other minor roles in the play.  This involvement of the children made the performance more entertaining for the children and for the adults, as Gratiano called Shylock a name rather quietly and Nerissa did not say a word the whole play.  This way of presenting The Merchant of Venice (or Stratford) was great for showing a work of Shakespeare in a way that made it exciting for kids.  Even though some of the language was hard to understand for kids, the actors translated these parts into "modern English" so everyone is the audience would understand what was taking place.  Overall, I was very satisfied with the performance.  A performance like that is one I would take my own kids to someday.  

the evil Shylock- this actor was great at his character...maybe a little too good.  He kind of scared his fake daughter. 

One of Portia's suitors; don't choose gold.

The major characters (played by adults); They put on a great performance that I believe got many of the kids there a bit more excited for Shakespeare.

Are there any Shakespeare works that you think would be difficult to adapt for kids?

"Pray now, forget and forgive" -- Shakespeare, King Lear

I am sorry for not posting this past week.  Life has been absolutely crazy for me, so reading The Tempest and Henry V was about all I could handle.  I will catch up this weekend on my posts, sharing what I have learned.

The Tempest- First Look and Preview of Things to Come

"While you here do snoring lie,

Open-eyed conspiracy

His time doth take.

If of life you keep a care,

Shake off slumber and beware.

Awake! Awake!"

This painting describes the scene where Ariel prevents the murder of Alonso, the King of Naples, and his advisor by Antonio and Sebastian.  Alonso and Gonzalo are sleeping, but Ariel sings the words above to Gonzalo.  Gonzalo awakes and wakes up Alonso.  Antonio and Sebastian make up excuses for their drawn knives.  The artist, Paul Falconer Poole, has taken liberty to depart from the text.  Three women are in the painting that are not in the play, and Ariel is awakening Alonso instead of Gonzalo.

This is an oil sketch of the finished work.  No one knows where the two side panels are that depict Miranda and Ferdinand talking (on the left) and Prospero and Alonso (on the right).

"O, the cry did knock against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd" (The Tempest, Act I, Scene ii)
There will be more about this picture in my next post.

To begin reading the play, I read a summary of The Tempest, and read about the play on common sites like SparkNotes and Wikipedia. For my next few posts, I am going to be experiencing The Tempest through multiple means of supplementary material.  My next post will look more closely at paintings about Act I and II to see how they add to my understanding of the play.  Act III, I will find and watch different movie and play adaptations.  For Act IV, I will search for student artistic representations of the play.  Act V, I will participate in online forums about The Tempest.  After finishing the play, I will create something pertaining to the play to try to apply the knowledge that I have learned.

So far, the play has been very interesting.  The play jumps right into the action.  It was intriguing to think of how Shakespeare set up the beginning of his plays so that people would more quickly connect with the story line.  The thunder at the beginning, people running around frantically, and characters such as Boatswain help the reader to understand that what they are witnessing is a boat full of people in serious peril.  As I connect with this text, I will be sharing insights on Shakespeare's writing style, because I would like to be an editor someday.  Has there been anything about Shakespeare's writing approach in your reading of The Tempest that has stood out to you?

They Say Time Heals All Wounds...

I got my wisdom teeth out last Thursday before coming back to Provo. It was quite an interesting experience to be awake during the procedure, especially not being completely numb for the crushing and removal of one of said teeth.  That first day I was feeling great, but as time went on, I left that feeling behind.  

For the past week, I have had to be really careful of what I eat.  Right now, I can relate pretty well to the cartoon below.

The journey has been interesting, but I am hoping to be able to finally eat, really eat again, soon.  I have been having difficulties still pain-wise, but hopefully, if what they say is true, time heals all wounds.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 60 does not share this opinion of time healing all wounds.  Sonnet 60 speaks on who time passes and how it affects human life.  The first quatrain speaks on how every minute that passes replaces the minute before it.  The second quatrain talks about how time begins by giving to human life, but then continues on by taking away what it has given, beauty, strength, etc.  The third quatrain goes into describing the monster that is time by telling how it robs beauty from both humans and nature.  But then the couplet takes a turn, as couplets often do, where Shakespeare describes his writing as everlasting, despite the powers of time's "cruel hand."

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end; 
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend. 
Nativity, once in the main of light, 
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight, 
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth 
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow, 
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth, 
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
   And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
   Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

Time may heal, and time may hurt, but time is always constant.  Beauty is fleeting.  Writing may be destroyed through time, but the reputation of either or both can last forever, such as Sonnet 60.  See...I might have a little wisdom left after all.

My Relationship With Shakespeare

I will be honest.  Shakespeare has never been my favorite writer.  I appreciate everything that he has done for our culture and language, but I have always struggled to be absorbed in his writing.  When I was faced with the decision of choosing which major author class to take, I originally thought, "Anything but Shakespeare."  Then, I began to think, "But maybe...that is why it is the right choice for me.  What better way to develop a love of Shakespeare then to take a semester long class completely focused on his works?"  When looking at the different course descriptions from the various professors teaching the subject, I saw Dr. Burton's name.  I really enjoyed his class during spring 2011 where we looked at literary works through multiple lenses and incorporated the changing ways of gathering information through technology to revolutionize the classroom experience.  This section was the right section for me.  I remembered Dr. Burton's love of Shakespeare and knew that he would teach it in a way to help me gain a better understanding of Shakespeare's work.

In the past, I have read a handful of plays and another handful of sonnets, my favorite so far probably being the play King Lear.  I am looking forward to experiencing some more of Shakespeare's works and developing a greater understanding of them.

Through my reading of Shakespeare this semester, I plan on focusing on the analysis of the words upon the page (or in the case of this class, upon the screen).  I will focus on the meaning of different passages and on Shakespeare's literary style.  My other focus is something that I discovered I cared a lot about in my last class with Dr. Burton, which is e-Learning, incorporating electronic forms in learning and teaching.  I want to explore new ways to explore Shakespeare in this way, that could possibly help future readers of Shakespeare to develop a love of his works at a younger age.  This semester will be very exciting, and I look forward to discussing these ideas with Dr. Burton and my fellow classmates & bloggers.